Brothers in Battle

Legend of the Five Rings card from Before the Dawn, Promotional–Emperor, Emperor Edition Demo Decks, Chaos Reigns Part II, Three Dynasties

Card Type

Strategy

Gold Cost

0

Keywords

Bushido Virtue, Duty

Card Text

Battle/Open: Target two or three of your performing Samurai. Each of them has +1F and the ability, "Battle: Ranged 4 Attack" while in an army with one or more of the others.

Focus Value

3

Legality

Age of Conquest (Emperor), Destroyer War (Celestial), Shattered Empire, Three Dynasties

Deck

Fate

Printings

Rules Q&A

• Q: I am given to understand through Search-Fu that multiple uses of Sneak Attack do not grant additional opportunities to take the first battle action. However, Scouting the Pass introduces an additional restriction via a performer. If my opponent has Scout A perform Scouting the Pass 1 and then has Scout B perform Scouting the Pass 2, what is the result? A) Does one instance of Scouting the Pass take precedence over the other because the active player decides the order, or B) Either Scout A or B can not satisfy the conditions of Scouting the Pass and the first opportunity must be passed back to the defender barring an action such as Brothers In Battle that is performed by multiple personalities?
  A: Scout B would have to perform the first Battle action.
  Each copy of Scouting the Pass changes the game procedure from the rulebook default, and the final change is what the game will look for and allow when you start the Combat Segment.
  1) The Default: Defender gets the first opportunity to take a Battle action or pass. 2) You play Scouting the Pass: You now have the first opportunity to take a Battle action with Scout A or pass. 3) You play another Scouting the Pass: You now have the first opportunity to take a Battle action with Scout B or pass. Ben Higgins, "Multiple Scouting the Pass", 13 Jan 2013
• Q: Does the granted ability from Brothers in Battle (Battle: Ranged 4 Attack) inherit the Bushido Virtue (and Duty, I suppose) keyword(s): are the samurai actually granted 'Bushido Virtue/Duty/Battle: Ranged 4 Attack'?
  Brothers in Battle
  Bushido Virtue • Duty Battle/Open: Choose two or three of your performing Samurai: Each of them has +1F and the ability, "Battle: Ranged 4 Attack" while in an army with one or more of the others.
  A: No, the granted ability is not also a Bushido Virtue Duty ability.
  Keywords move down to abilities on their card, but do no jump across cards.
  While the granted ability is in the text box of Brothers in Battle, it itself is not an ability of Brothers in Battle. Ben Higgins, "Brothers in Battle and keywords", 4 Sep 2012
• Q: Hey guys,
  Quick question about Naval and Brothers in Battle (used search, didn't find it).
  Brothers in Battle Battle/Open: Choose two or three of your performing Samurai: Each of them has +1F and the ability "Battle: Ranged 4 Attack" while in an army with one or more of the others.
  Naval Invasion Reaction: After engaging, if you have more Naval personalities than your opponent, choose your performing attacking Naval Personality: you have the first opportunity to take a Battle action, which he must perform.
  If you only have one Naval personality (say Daigotsu Hotako XP3, as is the most likely scenario in a non-Mantis game) and 2 other non-Naval Personalities, can you use Brothers in Battle and choose one Naval and 2 non-Naval performers as your Naval action?
  Anthony
  A: Please search before asking questions. Alex Jones, "Naval and Brothers in Battle", 18 May 2012
• Q: I target three of my samurai (A,B,C) with Brothers in Battle. # In a subsequent battle, Samuari A uses his ranged attack. My opponent then sends Samurai A home. He is no longer in an army with Samurai B and C, so loses his +1F and his Ranged Attack ability. I move Samurai A back into the battle. He now 'gains' the +1F and 'Battle: Ranged 4 attack'.
  Can he use his newly gained Ranged 4?
  My argument is that he can as it is a newly added action, just as if I had played a second BiB in the battle as an action, not a second use of an action previously used this turn . Am I wrong?
  Specifically, my reasoning is that BiB is not granting a conditional ranged attack, in which case it would say 'Until the end of the turn, this Samurai has the ability Battle: If this Samurai is in an army with another Samurai also targeted by the same copy of Brothers in Battle: Ranged 4 attack'
  A: No, the Ranged Attack ability is not new. It's the same one coming back; quite different from being under the effects of two different Brothers in Battle.
  Ongoing Effects: "An ongoing effect that is applied “while” some condition is true ends when that condition is no longer true, and takes effect again if the condition becomes true within the stated duration of the effect. Nevertheless, a conditional ongoing effect is a single effect, regardless of how many times it is reapplied. If it is negated or prevented, it remains negated or prevented if the effect is reapplied due to the condition being met anew." Brook Cunningham, "Brothers in Battle and movement", 3 Feb 2012
• Q: Aieee, my head hurts.
  Regarding viewtopic.php?f=59&t=92476
  I have 2 Samurai with Brothers in Battle. Opponent Justly Earned Victory's to negate force bonuses (and penalties!). I send home one of my Samurai, therefore removing both the static +1F (which is currently a static +0F, but it goes away) and Battle actions that exist on both personalities.
  I move my guy back in.
  Does the force bonus come back?
  Side question: If I had used both of the ranged attacks available before moving my personality home, and then done the same actions, may I use the abilities again, since the abilities on the cards that said "Battle: Ranged 4" have been removed and reapplied?
  A: Each force bonus or granted abilty is one effect, regardless of a "while" condition making it not apply all the time.
  See Ongoing Effects: An ongoing effect that is applied “while” some condition is true ends when that condition is no longer true, and takes effect again if the condition becomes true within the stated duration of the effect. Nevertheless, a conditional ongoing effect is a single effect, regardless of how many times it is reapplied. If it is negated or prevented, it remains negated or prevented if the effect is reapplied due to the condition being met anew. Alex Jones, "Brothers in Battle's force bonus", 21 Jul 2011
• Q: Card text:
  Battle/Open: Choose two or three of your performing Samurai: Each of them has +1F and the ability, "Battle: Ranged 4 Attack" while in an army one or more of the others.
  1, If used as an open action, do the targeted samurai get the force boosts?
  2, Do the targets get the force boost in battle whether or not they are with their 'brothers'?
  Many thanks in advance.
  A: The +1F and the granting of the ability "Battle: Ranged 4 Attack" are only in effect while the condition is being met; that condition being "while in an army one or more of the other [performing Samurai]". So, the performers you choose would not have either the bonus nor the ability until they meet the condition, no matter when you took the action. Brook Cunningham, "Brothers in Battle", 17 Jul 2011
• Q: Is "choosing" Naomasa for Brothers in Battle considered "targeting" for Naomasa's reaction?
  A: No. Targeting is explicit; the actual word "target" must appear, or it isn't targeting.
  http://rules.l5r.com/CE_Glossary_T#Targeting: "The word “target” must appear as a verb or an adjective for the procedure to be considered targeting -- just “choosing” something is not targeting." Zen Faulkes, "Matsu Naomasa and Brothers in Battle", 27 May 2011
• Q: I forget, Brothers in Battle can you split the targets between both paragons and samurai? or do you have to pick one or the other?
  A: Any combination. Brook Cunningham, "Onyx Lives #rules-questions", 21 Oct 2026